On the heels of a same-sex marriage victory in New York that has inspired gay-rights groups to continue their push, a new poll indicates Virginians still reject such unions.
The 52-41 percent margin in a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday does show that opposition has waned since the 57-43 vote in 2006 in favor of the state's marriage amendment, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Conversely, the poll shows support for allowing same-sex parents to adopt, with 51 percent in support and 43 percent opposed.
"Public support for gay rights is trending upwards in a consistently straight line" on workplace rights, adoption and marriage, said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, counsel for Equality Virginia. "The General Assembly is behind the voters on this."
A Washington Post poll released in May found that 47 percent of Virginia adults thought same-sex marriage should be legal, with 43 percent against.
President Barack Obama addressed the topic in a news conference Wednesday, saying the country is seeing "a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co-workers, and that they've got to be treated like every other American."
"And I think that principle will win out," he said. "But I think we're moving in a direction of greater equality, and I think that's a good thing."
Quinnipiac conducts public-opinion surveys in seven states and nationwide. In its debut survey in Virginia, it polled 1,434 registered voters between June 21 and 27 on landline and cellphones. The survey carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
The survey asked respondents about a variety of topics, including their assessment of state leaders.
Gov. Bob McDonnell fared well, posting a 55 percent job approval rating against 26 percent disapproval, with more voters saying they like him personally than back his policies. Voters like McDonnell personally 57-16 percent, but support drops to 48-33 percent when asked if they back most of his policies.
McDonnell's approval rating could be buoyed by the fact that 43 percent of those queried said the new state budget is fair to people like them, while 32 percent said it is unfair.
"What you see across the country ... in a lot of the states where Republican governors are having a problem, is that voters don't think that the cuts that are being done are fair to them," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"The ability to make people think that the cuts being made are fair is a very important political chip to have. And those who cannot convince voters of the fairness of their acts have a tougher hill to climb politically."
McDonnell is polling higher than his GOP counterparts in Florida, Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who is trying to raise his name recognition in advance of a 2013 gubernatorial run, received a 39 percent approval rating with 20 percent disapproval, but 42 percent selected "don't know."
Headline-grabbing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli registered a 49 percent approval rating, with 31 percent disapproval and 20 percent saying "don't know."
The state legislature received a 48-33 percent approval rating, while the voters were split 41-41 on the prospect of uranium mining.
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